Sunday, May 24, 2020

Who Invented Cracker Jack, the Classic Popcorn Snack

A German immigrant named Frederick Fritz William Rueckheim invented Cracker Jack, a snack  consisting of  molasses-flavored  caramel-coated popcorn  and  peanuts. Rueckheim came to Chicago in 1872 to help clean up after the famous Chicago fire. He also worked selling popcorn from a cart. Together with brother Louis, Rueckheim experimented and came up with a delightful popcorn candy, which the brothers decided to mass market. Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the first Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893.  The  Ferris wheel, Aunt Jemima pancakes, and the  ice cream cone  were also introduced at this event. The treat was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts. The snacks first name was Candied Popcorn and Peanuts. Cracker Jack Character and Name Legend has it that the name Cracker Jack came from a customer who, upon trying the treat, exclaimed, that really a cracker — Jack!  The name stuck. However, crackerjack was also a slang expression that meant something pleasing or excellent. This is more likely to have been the origin of the name.  The Cracker Jack name was registered in 1896.   Cracker Jacks mascots  Sailor Jack and dog Bingo were introduced in 1916  and registered as a trademark in 1919.  Sailor Jack was modeled after Robert Rueckheim, grandson of Frederick. Robert was the son of the third and eldest Rueckheim brother, Edward. Robert died of pneumonia at age 8, shortly after his image appeared on boxes of Cracker Jack.  The sailor boy image acquired such meaning for the founder of Cracker Jack, he had it carved on his tombstone, which is in St. Henrys Cemetery in Chicago.  Sailor Jacks dog Bingo was based on a real dog named Russell, a stray  adopted in 1917 by Henry Eckstein. He demanded that the dog be used on the packaging.   The Cracker Jack brand has been owned by Frito-Lay  since 1997. The Cracker Jack Box By 1896, the company devised a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate. The mixture had been difficult to handle, as it tended to stick together. The wax-sealed, moisture-proof box was introduced in 1899. Immortalized in 1908 in the lyrics of the baseball song Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Cracker Jack added surprises in each package. Trivia In 1912, toy surprises were first put into every Cracker Jack box. This tradition continued until Frito-Lay stopped the practice in 2016.Take Me Out to the Ball Game, written in 1908 by Norworth and Von Tilzer, contains a reference to Cracker Jack in the lyrics.The boy on the Cracker Jack box image is named Sailor Jack and his dog is called Bingo.The Cracker Jack Company was sold to Borden in 1964.In 1997, Frito-Lay purchased Cracker Jack from Borden. Sources Dawn, Randee. Cracker Jack is replacing toy prizes inside with digital codes. Today, April 22, 2016. Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Baseball Almanac, 2019.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Costo y trámites para visa C-1 de tránsito por EE.UU.

La visa de trà ¡nsito C-1 permite a una persona extranjera hacer escala en Estados Unidos cuando sus viajes tienen origen y finalizan en otros paà ­ses. Por ejemplo, la visa C-1 puede ser una opcià ³n para un latinoamericano que le desea visitar un paà ­s europeo y le gustarà ­a viajar en una aerolà ­nea que hace escala en Estados Unidos porque el boleto de avià ³n es mà ¡s barato que si compra un vuelo directo. Otro caso para solicitar la visa de trà ¡nsito serà ­a el de un extranjero en un barco cuyo origen y destino no es Estados Unidos y en el transcurso del viaje el barco atraca en un puerto estadounidense. En este caso no se tiene permiso para bajar a tierra. Si se quiere pasear y hacer turismo se necesita una visa de turista, conocida en algunos paà ­ses como de paseo o placer o tambià ©n por las iniciales B2 o B1/B2. Quià ©nes no necesitan solicitar la visa C-1 de trà ¡nsito No requieren sacar la visa de trà ¡nsito los extranjeros que hacen en escala en Estados Unidos pero se encuentran en una de las siguientes categorà ­as: Residentes permanentes legales en EE.UU.Personas con una visa de turista vigenteExtranjeros de un paà ­s participante en el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visas. Las personas de este à ºltimo grupo y que, por lo tanto, no necesitan visa para ingresar a EE.UU. debe solicitar, sin embargo, una autorizacià ³n electrà ³nica que se conoce como ESTA. En este momento, de todos los paà ­ses hispanohablantes solo Chile y Espaà ±a està ¡n incluidos en dicho programa. Cà ³mo se tramita la visa C1 de trà ¡nsito La visa C1 forma parte de las denominadas visas no inmigrantes. Debe solicitarse una visa por cada miembro de la familia que planee hacer escala en los Estados Unidos, incluidos los nià ±os y los bebà ©s. Esta regla aplica incluso en los casos en los que los menores no tienen pasaporte propio por estar incluidos en el de uno de los padres. El primer paso para solicitar la visa de trà ¡nsito es rellenar el formulario DS-160 y, al finalizar, imprimir la confirmacià ³n con el cà ³digo de barras. A continuacià ³n, proceder a elegir la pà ¡gina del paà ­s al que pertenece el consulado en el que se aplica por la visa. Para los hispanohablantes son las siguientes: ArgentinaBoliviaChileColombiaCosta RicaCuba. Està ¡n suspendidos la mayorà ­a de servicios de visados. Consultar con Embajada.EcuadorEl SalvadorEspaà ±aGuatemalaHondurasMà ©xico. Tambià ©n hay telà ©fonos disponibles.NicaraguaPanamà ¡ParaguayPerà ºRepà ºblica DominicanaVenezuela Si nunca se ha utilizado con anterioridad una de esas pà ¡ginas, debe crearse un perfil antes de seguir. Ahà ­ se realizan importantes trà ¡mites como, por ejemplo, cerrar la fecha y hora para la entrevista con el oficial consular.   Debe verificarse con las reglas de cada consulado para la entrevista si nià ±os y ancianos deben presentarse y a partir de quà © edad. La regla general es que los menores de 13 o menos y los mayores de 80 o mà ¡s no deben presentarse, pero puede haber excepciones. Otros trà ¡mites importantes durante este paso son el pago de la tarifa de la visa MRV, que deberà ¡ hacerse segà ºn los requisitos de cada consulado y, finalmente, seguir los pasos segà ºn va indicando el formulario en lo que respecta a la toma de huellas digitales y fotos, que dependen de las directrices de cada consulado. No hay confusià ³n posible, ya que al elegir el consulado en el que se aplica, el formulario que aparece en pantalla solo da la opcià ³n a los trà ¡mites especà ­ficos que aplican en el mismo. Asà ­, en paà ­ses como Mà ©xico, Argentina o Repà ºblica Dominicana la toma de datos biomà ©tricos como huellas tiene lugar antes de la entrevista en el consulado en una ubicacià ³n habilitada para ello. En otros consulados, por el contrario, ese trà ¡mite se realiza el propio dà ­a de la entrevista y en el consulado. En este caso, al llenar la solicitud prestar atencià ³n a las fotos, ya que algunos consulados requieren que las tome el propio solicitante de la visa, en cuyo caso deberà ¡ ajustarse a los parà ¡metros que exigen las autoridades estadounidenses. Finalmente, a la entrevista debe acudirse en hora, llevando ordenados los documentos necesarios. Entre estos destacan el pasaporte và ¡lido con visa del paà ­s de destino, si fuera necesaria, el resguardo del pago de la solicitud de la visa y el cà ³digo de barras y confirmacià ³n de haber completado el formulario DS-160. Ademà ¡s, debe llevarse copia del itinerario del viaje o de la reserva del mismo y los documentos que sirvan para probar que el solicitante tiene lazos econà ³micos, familiares y sociales sà ³lidos en su lugar de residencia habitual. Esta documentacià ³n es importante porque la causa principal por la que se niega la visa es falta de acreditacià ³n de dichos lazos. Costo de la visa MRV de tipo C-1 de trà ¡nsito En la actualidad, el costo no reembolsable de solicitar la visa de trà ¡nsito es de $160 dà ³lares americanos. A las visas estadounidenses se las conoce habitualmente por las iniciales MRV, que son las siglas en inglà ©s de Visa que pueden leer las mà ¡quinas. Ademà ¡s de la tarifa siempre obligatoria, los ciudadanos de algunos paà ­ses deben pagar una cuota o arancel adicional que se conoce como issuance fee, pero sà ³lo si es aprobada.   Debido a su alto costo es posible que solamente resulte rentable si se estima que se realizarà ¡n con dicha visa varios viajes con esa visa. Aprobacià ³n o rechazo solicitud de visa C-1 de trà ¡nsito Si la solicitud de visa es aprobada se entregarà ¡ al solicitante segà ºn las reglas de cada consulado. En la actualidad en la mayorà ­a de los paà ­ses se entrega el pasaporte con la visa estampada en el mismo utilizando los servicio de mensajerà ­a de DHL. Cabe destacar que la visa puede ser negada. Las razones son mà ºltiples y pueden ser calificadas en dos grandes categorà ­as: inadmisible, en cuyo  caso a veces  se puede pedir un perdà ³n,  o inelegible. Estas son 20 razones por las que la peticià ³n de visa puede ser no aprobada por esta à ºltima causa.  En este caso, el consulado entrega una hoja donde se indica la causa de la misma. Para aplicar de nuevo con posibilidades de obtener una aprobacià ³n es necesario que cambie la circunstancia por la que se produjo la negacià ³n. Si todo sigue igual, la respuesta seguirà ¡ siendo la misma.  ¿Por cuà ¡nto tiempo es và ¡lida la estadà ­a en EE.UU. con una visa de trà ¡nsito? La visa C-1 permite el trà ¡nsito inmediato y continuo a travà ©s de Estados Unidos desde un paà ­s de origen hacia otro de destino. Cuando se llega al control migratorio de EE.UU. el oficial decide el tiempo mà ¡ximo de estancia en el paà ­s que, en ningà ºn caso, puede exceder de los 29 dà ­as. Esto no quiere decir en ningà ºn caso que la persona con la visa C1 puede permanecer todos esos dà ­as en EE.UU. Por el contrario, quiere decir que se està ¡ obligado a salir de EE.UU. en fecha primera de las dos siguientes: en la del boleto en el avià ³n o en el barco para el cual se tiene la reservadentro del tiempo autorizado por el oficial de migracià ³n –que puede ser 29 dà ­as o menos. Por ejemplo, si la escala en Estados Unidos implica que entre el avià ³n de llegada y el de salida hay horas suficientes como para visitar una ciudad, puede hacerse. Sin embargo, no se puede utilizar para hacer turismo aprovechando que se para en Estados Unidos, asà ­ sea de solo por un dà ­a. Para este à ºltimo caso, la visa adecuada es la de turismo o, en el caso de pertenecer a un paà ­s en el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visados, una autorizacià ³n electrà ³nica ESTA es suficiente. La intencià ³n es fundamental. Si es hacer turismo, el oficial del consulado negarà ¡ la visa o el oficial del paso migratorio negarà ¡ el ingreso a EE.UU. por carecer de la visa correcta. Si la intencià ³n es hacer escala de paso entre un paà ­s y otro, la visa a solicitar es la C-1. Puntos Clave: visa C1 de trà ¡nsito La visa C1 sirve para pasar en trà ¡nsito por EE.UU. cuando se viaja desde otro paà ­s de origen a otro de destino.No es necesaria la visa C1 si se tiene visa de turista o ESTA vigente.El costo de la visa C1 es de $160.Debe salirse de EE.UU. en el vuelo o barco para el cual se ha hecho la reserva. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Acc/230 Week 2 Assignment Lucent Technologies Case Free Essays

Week 2 Individual: Lucent Technologies Case Assignment: Read Case 2. 1: Lucent Technologies on pp. 79 and 80 (Ch. We will write a custom essay sample on Acc/230 Week 2 Assignment Lucent Technologies Case or any similar topic only for you Order Now 2) of the text. Compose a 500- to 750-word paper that includes your answers to questions 2-4 on p. 79. Question #2: Evalutat the asset, debt, and equity structure of Lucent Technologies, as well as trends and changes found on the common-size balance sheet. After reviewing the case of Lucent Technologies, we discover that the assets for Lucent Technologies suffered a decline between 2003 and 2004. According to the information provided in the case revealing, the current assets in 2003 was 49. 4% of Lucent Technologies total assets, whereas the current assets in 2004 decreased to 48. 5%. Although, after reviewing the case the percentage of inventory rose from 4. 0% in 2003 to 4. 8% in 2004. We can then calculate there is about a 20% increase in the total inventory holdings. Also it is apparent that Lucent Technologies entire assets in 2003 was 24% and had a decrease in 2004 to about 20%. This can be measured by the company’s cash equivalents and cash. The total debt structure of Lucent Technologies decreased between 2003 and 2004. Lucent Technologies had a decrease in their current liability. In 2003 their current liability was 25. 6% and decreased to 24. 3% during 2004. According to the debts that increased from 23% in 2003 to 26. 4% a year later in the company’s total liability, the debts of Lucent Technologies would be considered long term. In 2003, Lucent Technologies had decreased in the representation of total liabilities and shareholders equity on the equity side for Lucent Technologies when compared to a year later. Improvements can happen and the situation of the company now can improve as the year progresses so the company won’t look deficit. Question #3: What concerns would investors and creditors have based on only this information? Based on only this information for Lucent Technologies, a concern investors and creditors would have when looking at this balance sheet would be the debt structure. When looking at the given information we see a decrease in the total liability, but an increase in the long term liabilities. This could caurse harm to the company since the current liabilities are decreasing from one year to the next. Although, since there is an increase shown for the long term liabilities it balances out to prevent showing a loss. The equity portion is in a superior position for the company. In conclusion, with the given information, Lucent Technologies has been improving looking at 2003 and 2004 and will continue to improve steadily. Question #4: What additional financial and non financial information would investors and creditors need to make investing and lending decision for Lucent Technologies? Some additional financial information that investors and creditors would need in order to make investing and lending decisions for Lucent Technologies would be the company’s financial statements. Investors and creditors would need financial statements for Lucent Technologies because the financial statements contain all the financial information that the investors and creditors would need to make sound investing and lending decisions for Lucent Technologies. The financial statements are the inner workings in a company. The financial statements of a company can be looked at and compared with previous years, in order to find trends in the financial statements and guide investors and creditors to figure out where the company stands and what direction the company may have facing them. Some nonfinancial information that investors and lending decisions for Lucent Technologies would be to know the operating units were created to work together in order to provide cost-efficient solutions and innovative for customers. The business structure can sometimes play a key roll in financial decisions. How to cite Acc/230 Week 2 Assignment Lucent Technologies Case, Essay examples

Monday, May 4, 2020

Unique Characteristics of Hotel Services -Free-Samples for Students

Question: Write an essay about the unique characteristics of hotel services marketing and discuss how a hotel manager can differentiate his/her hotel from competitors's by addressing the challenges presented to hotel customers by the inherent and unique characteristics of services. Answer: The essay discusses the five inherent and unique characteristics of services, taking into account the sales and marketing in the hospitality sector, specifically focusing on hotels. The five inherent characteristics of services are namely intangibility, perish ability, variability or heterogeneity, inseparability and benefits without ownership. For studying the implications of these characteristics, the essay takes Novotel Rotorua Lakeside as the study enterprise. Located in Tutanekai Street, Rotorua 3010, New Zealand, this hotel is a renowned one in the Novotel Group of Hotel, a global hospitality chain providing luxury, comfort and convenience to their clients all over the world. The hotel is a 4.5 star mid-scale one, with an average rating of 4.1 stars (Compared among several rating sites). Known for its indoor pools, lakeside view, complimentary access to geothermal pools, scrumptious breakfast buffet and lake-view terrace bar, the hotel garners considerable attentions from comfo rt seeking travellers. Tourists and businesspersons avail their services from all over the world for family vacations as well as corporate visits. However, Rotorua being a tourist attraction, Novotel faces stiff competitions from Hotel Sudima, Hotel Millennium, Hotel Holiday inn, Hotel Rydges, Hotel Copthorone, which are situated, closed to one another (Rotoruanz.com, 2017). The essay tries to show how the manager of Novotel can judiciously use these characteristics of services to take his hotel way ahead of its competitors. The discussion analyse the unique characteristic of services, followed by three ways in which each of these characteristics affect the consumers and the corresponding strategies taken by the management to rule out the challenges in order to gain an edge over its immediate competitors. Service sector, by its inherent nature, is strikingly different from commodity sector, due to the presence of several unique characteristics of services, like intangibility, heterogeneity; perish ability, inseparability and non-ownership. The essay discusses the unique characteristics of the service marketing in the hospitality sector and the profitable service marketing strategies that can be taken in this sector, keeping in mind the problems faced by the customers availing these services due to these features. The essay focuses on Novotel Rotorua Lakeside, New Zealand, a luxury hotel of the global hospitality chain, Novotel, situated in Rotorua, one of the renowned tourist attractions of New Zealand. It tries to analyse the challenges by the problems faced by the customers like confusion about quality of services, different prices at different periods and varying quality of staffs. It also tries to recommend strategies like proper promotional activities, introduction of lucrative p ackages and training and grooming of hotel staffs, respectively that can be taken by the management of the hotel to stay ahead of its competitors. Many scholars have defined the term service differently over time. According to Palmer, service can be essentially the production of an intangible substance or an intangible element of a tangible commodity, which satisfies the customers after being exchanged in lieu of producers with some forms of compensation. Shostack, however, argues about the presence of pure goods and services. According to him, pure goods and pure services form two extreme sides of a spectrum, the entities in between the spectrum, varies with respect to intangibility (Chang Polonsky, 2012, pp. 107-118). Berry, sheds light on the term of service quality, defining quality of service as providing it correctly in the very first chance, with zero defects such that it exceeds the expectations of the customers. Cumulatively, service can be defined as the provision of some intangible benefits to the ones in need of it. Service, by nature has some unique characteristics (Wirtz, 2012). Kotler argues that services are intangible in nature, as they have no tangible substance in them, which implies services bought cannot be seen, tasted or felt. According to him, services are also inseparable and heterogeneous, as they are impossible to be detached from the provider and vary in quality with the providers (Kotler, 2012). By inseparability, it is meant that they cannot be separated physically from the provider of service, throughout the period of availing the service (Lovelock, 2015). The quality of services does not remain the same and varies according to the nature of that particular service provider who is providing the service at that period. Therefore, the quality of services are hugely circumstantial and not homogenous (Bowie, 2016). Kotler defines services to be perishable, which means services, unlike products, cannot be stored or kept in inventory for future use. It has to be availed at the point of time it is scheduled to be provided (Kotler, 2012). Raymond states that the fifth characteristic of services is benefit without ownership, which implies unlike goods, customers cannot own any service, they can only avail or access the use of the service for the time being (Prudhomme Raymond, 2013, pp. 116-126) These inherent features characterize the hospitality sector (hotels, in this case). Hospitality as a service is intangible, in the sense that before staying in a hotel, an individual cannot know about the quality of services that hotel will provide and the level of overall satisfaction he or she will have while staying. In the current digitized markets, with a number of hotel reviewing sites available, a person may get some idea of the services provided by a specific hotel from overall customer reviews (Bowie, 2016). However, reviews being highly individual specific, cannot give a strong idea about the hotel. Hotel services are also inseparable, as both the parties are present during the entire time span in which the service is being availed. The customers availing hotel services cannot separate the services from the service providers (Horner Swarbrooke, 2016). When an individual avail services of a hotel, he grades the services received largely in terms of the grooming, behaviour, warmth and availability of the hotel staffs. As a result, the overall customer satisfaction from the service is hugely judged not only based on the service itself but also of the nature of the service provider (Prudhomme Raymond, 2013, pp. 116-126). The quality of service highly depends on the person who is providing it at that point of time and varies, as a result, depending on the nature of the provider. A receptionist of a hotel may be more cordial to the customers. Hotel services are therefore heterogeneous. Hospitality services are obviously perishable (Lovelock, 2015). An individual, booking a hotel room for a particular duration, has to avail the service of that hotel within that duration specifically. Unlike material buys, he cannot keep the services in store for future use. Hotel services cannot be stored in inventory like most other services. One cannot own the services of a hotel, as he can own the products he buys from market (Line Runyan, 2012, pp. 477-488). If a pers on books a hotel room for a particular duration, he or she can only access or use the room for that period; the individual loses access to that room as soon as the service period ends. Therefore, like the above four characteristics, non-ownership is also another attribute of the hospitality services (Wirtz, 2012). The chosen enterprise, Novotel Rotorua Lakeside, as a part of the hospitality industry, is no exception to the above service characteristics. The clients of this hotel also face challenges attributed to these characteristics, few significant of which are discussed below with the possible counter-strategies, which the manager of the hotel can take, in order to stay ahead of its competitors and earn greater revenue (Novotel.com., 2017). Intangibility in services can affect customers in several ways: The potential customers cannot get a clear concept about how good the services of the hotel will actually be (Mok, 2013). A variety of rooms and room types being available, the customer often gets confused regarding what type of room he or she should avail to maximize personal satisfaction, as choices vary from person to person according to personal needs (Prudhomme Raymond, 2013, pp. 116-126). In presence of stiff competition, customers may often fall in trap of paid reviews of its competitors, highlighting their own services and thereby shadowing Novotel. A few strategies can be undertaken by the Manager of Novotel in order to counter the problems faced by the clients of this hotel, thereby giving the hotel an edge over its competitors: To give the potential clients, an idea about the properties of services offered by them, the manager can implement usages of tangible cues; the lobby ambience and well-groomed and well-dressed employees (N. Torres Kline, 2013, pp. 642-659) can impress clients visiting the hotel for the first time. Stationeries (Pen and writing pads) with the name of the hotel embossed on them can also be kept for the clients to use. To clear the confusion of the customers, regarding what type of room should be availed by them, the manager can form a customer helpdesk with enquiry staffs specially trained to provide customized service to individual clients in finding them the most appropriate set of services according to their needs. The hotel can also launch a telephonic customer-care service cell to attend to the queries of the potential clients (Martnez-Ros Orfila-Sintes, 2012, pp. 686-694). To counter the third problem of image building, the manager can take promotional strategies like distribution of attractive promotional brochures, with service package details lucratively displayed, hoardings and advertisements. A dedicated hotel website can also be developed for promoting the hotel and displaying the arenas in which the hotel enjoys superiority over its competitors(Li, Ye, Law, 2013, pp. 784-802). Inseparability in services can also cause several challenges for the customers: Non-polite behaviour of one particular hotel staff at a point of time, which may influence the customer to make an overall negative opinion about the hotel, may dissatisfy a customer(Lu, Ye, Law, 2014, p. 15(1).1). The services provided by the hotel, being highly customer, location and time specific, centralized and mass production is a difficult task. Potential customers may be influenced by other customers who have already availed their services, which may have both positive and negative effects on the potential customers and on the reputation and business of the hotel as a whole(Li, Ye, Law, 2013, pp. 784-802). Management of the hotel can take several steps to counter these challenges: The issue of employee behaviour with the customers can be controlled and turned in favour of the hotel, by proper training of the hotel staffs and grooming them to maintain a professional and warm attitude towards their clients(Gummesson Grnroos, 2012, pp. 479-497). A supervision committee and a complain cell can also be maintained where customers can easily approach in case of any unfavourable incidents and which can ensure abrupt and strict actions in case of such incidents, thereby building a good impression of the organization in the market (Lub, 2012, pp. 553-573) Centralized mass production, in this sector can be difficult, but the Manager can try to implement this as far as possible. Maintaining uniformity in its services can be a challenge, but properly trained, diligent and dedicated to serve employees can help in achieving the target maintaining parity. Centralized mass production of the possible services can be done by using multi-site locations, which can help in increasing the competence of the hotel (Zhang Mao, 2012). To reduce the risk of negative influence of unsatisfied customers on the potential ones, public contact personnel should be hired and should be proactive in creating new client relationships and maintain the old ones(N. Torres Kline, 2013). A bad review from one customer can hamper the company reputation as well as future business prospects substantially and therefore, keeping a dynamic customer review portal, regular and efficient monitoring of the portal and addressing any negative customer feedback with swift and dedication can portray a positive image of the hotel in front of its clients. A happy and loyal client base in its turn can create more business possibilities for the hotel in future, thereby increasing its future revenue(Martnez-Ros Orfila-Sintes, 2012, pp. 686-694). The services provided by the hotel are highly variable in nature, with variations coming based on seasons, locations, customers, demographics and in general demand structure of the place where it is located. This heterogeneous feature of hospitality services provided by the Novotel, may lead to some challenging situations to be faced by the customers (Horner Swarbrooke, 2016): The price levels of their services and their availability may vary hugely from peak seasons to lean seasons due to a high demand for their services in the peak seasons (mostly holidays and vacation seasons) and low demand in the lean ones. Customer preferences, in hospitality sector, are also varied and very much individual specific. Therefore, a service, which can be welcoming for one customer, can be not so favoured or liked by other customers (Lub, 2012, pp. 553-573). The services provided by the hotel may also vary depending upon seasons or employees currently present. For example, a customer may not find food of his preferred cuisine due to unavailability of chef trained to produce that particular cuisine, causing disappointment for the customer. In addition, the quality of food served may vary from time to time, as these services are heterogeneous(Zhang Mao, 2012, pp. 113-131) To maintain a smooth, rising revenue all throughout the year, the manager needs to take strategies such that the hotel remains in demand all throughout the year and not only in peak seasons(Ariffin Maghzi, 2012, pp. 191-198). He may introduce new season specific services, which can only be available in Novotel, thereby creating demands in off seasons. In lean seasons, he can design special packages with attractive discounts and other benefits, which may attract a large clientele(Yoo Bai, 2013, pp. 166-177). The second problem of individualistic customer preferences can be tackled by offering customized services, giving customers liberty to choose from a number of options. The manager can assign an employee specific to a customer (especially high profile ones) who will look after the comfort and preferences of that client, thereby creating a positive impression (Lub, 2012, pp. 553-573). To rule out the possibility of unavailability of services, a thorough market research can be conducted to get a view of what different clients usually seek in a good hotel and then designing their services based on the finding. In case of demand of a service, which is temporarily unavailable, finding out easy and feasible alternatives by the hotel authorities can impress the customer and contribute to the good will of the hotel(Zhou, Ye, Pearce, Wu, 2014, pp. 1-10). The above discussion shows the possible challenges that a customer can face while availing the services of a hotel, which in the long run can create negative impressions of the hotel, thereby hampering its reputation and lowering its revenue. Keeping these challenges in mind, several strategies are also developed and discussed in the essay. The manager of Novotel Rotorua Lakeside (the study enterprise for this assignment) can implement these strategies to tackle the challenges faced by the customers, thereby creating a positive impression for his hotel, which may help Novotel to stay ahead of its competitors and earn a bigger clientele and greater revenues in future. References Ariffin, A., Maghzi, A. (2012). A preliminary study on customer expectations of hotel hospitality: Influences of personal and hotel factors. International Journal of Hospitality Management , 31(1), 191-198. Bowie, D. B. (2016). Hospitality marketing. Taylor Francis. Chang, Y., Polonsky, M. (2012). The influence of multiple types of service convenience on behavioral intentions: The mediating role of consumer satisfaction in a Taiwanese leisure setting. International journal of hospitality management , 31(1), 107-118. Gummesson, E., Grnroos, C. (2012). The emergence of the new service marketing: Nordic School perspectives. Journal of Service Management , 23(4), 479-497. Horner, S., Swarbrooke, J. (2016). Consumer behaviour in tourism. Routledge. Kotler, P. (2012). Kotler on marketing. Simon and Schuster. Li, H., Ye, Q., Law, R. (2013). Determinants of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry: an application of online review analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , 18(7), 784-802. Line, N., Runyan, R. C. (2012). Hospitality marketing research: Recent trends and future directions. International Journal of Hospitality Management , 31(2), 477-488. Lovelock, C. . (2015). Services marketing. Pearson Australia. Lu, Q., Ye, Q., Law, R. (2014). Moderating effects of product heterogeneity between online word-of-mouth and hotel sales. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research , 15(1), 1. Lub, X. N. (2012). 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Sustainable development practices in the hospitality industry: An empirical study of their impact on customer satisfaction and intentions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, (34), 116-126. Prudhomme, B. ., Raymond, L. (2013). Sustainable development practices in the hospitality industry: An empirical study of their impact on customer satisfaction and intentions. International Journal of Hospitality Management , 34, 116-126. Rotoruanz.com. (2017). Rotorua NZ | Visit Rotorua New Zealand. Retrieved Aug 13, 2017, from Rotoruanz.com: https://www.rotoruanz.com/ Wirtz, J. (2012). Essentials of services marketing. FT Press. Yoo, M., Bai, B. (2013). Customer loyalty marketing research: A comparative approach between hospitality and business journals. International Journal of Hospitality Management (33), 166-177. Zhang, J., Mao, Z. (2012). Image of all hotel scales on travel blogs: Its impact on customer loyalty. Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management , 21(2), 113-131. Zhou, L., Ye, S., Pearce, P. L., Wu, M. Y. (2014). Refreshing hotel satisfaction studies by reconfiguring customer review data. International Journal of Hospitality Management (38), 1-10 Ariffin, A. A. M., Maghzi, A. (2012). A preliminary study on customer expectations of hotel hospitality: Influences of personal and hotel factors.International Journal of Hospitality Management,31(1), 191-198. Bowie, D., Buttle, F., Brookes, M., Mariussen, A. (2016).Hospitality marketing.Taylor Francis. Chang, Y. W., Polonsky, M. J. (2012). The influence of multiple types of service convenience on behavioral intentions: The mediating role of consumer satisfaction in a Taiwanese leisure setting.International journal of hospitality management,31(1), 107-118. Gummesson, E., Grnroos, C. (2012). The emergence of the new service marketing: Nordic School perspectives.Journal of Service Management,23(4), 479-497. Horner, S., Swarbrooke, J. (2016).Consumer behaviour in tourism.Routledge. Kotler, P. (2012).Kotler on marketing. Simon and Schuster. Li, H., Ye, Q., Law, R. (2013). Determinants of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry: an application of online review analysis.Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research,18(7), 784-802. Line, N. D., Runyan, R. C. (2012). Hospitality marketing research: Recent trends and future directions.International Journal of Hospitality Management,31(2), 477-488. Lovelock, C., Patterson, P. (2015).Services marketing.Pearson Australia. Lu, Q., Ye, Q., Law, R. (2014).Moderating effects of product heterogeneity between online word-of-mouth and hotel sales.Journal of Electronic Commerce Research,15(1), 1. Lub, X., NijeBijvank, M., MatthijsBal, P., Blomme, R., Schalk, R. (2012). Different or alike?Exploring the psychological contract and commitment of different generations of hospitality workers.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,24(4), 553-573. Martnez-Ros, E., Orfila-Sintes, F. (2012). Training plans, manager's characteristics and innovation in the accommodation industry.International Journal of Hospitality Management,31(3), 686-694. Mok, C., Sparks, B., Kadampully, J. (2013).Service quality management in hospitality, tourism, and leisure.Routledge. Novotel.com. (2017).NovotelRotorua Lakeside. [online] Available at: https://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-1874-novotel-rotorua-lakeside/index.shtml [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]. Prudhomme, B., Raymond, L. (2013). Sustainable development practices in the hospitality industry: An empirical study of their impact on customer satisfaction and intentions.International Journal of Hospitality Management,34, 116-126. Rotoruanz.com (2017).Rotorua NZ | Visit Rotorua New Zealand. [online] Rotoruanz.com. Available at: https://www.rotoruanz.com/ [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]. Wirtz, J. (2012).Essentials of services marketing. FT Press. Yoo, M., Bai, B. (2013). Customer loyalty marketing research: A comparative approach between hospitality and business journals.International Journal of Hospitality Management,33, 166-177. Zhang, J. J., Mao, Z. (2012). Image of all hotel scales on travel blogs: Its impact on customer loyalty.Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management,21(2), 113-131. Zhou, L., Ye, S., Pearce, P. L., Wu, M. Y. (2014). Refreshing hotel satisfaction studies by reconfiguring customer review data.International Journal of Hospitality Management,38, 1-10.